Iran closes airports in Tehran amid exchange of attacks with Israel

Tehran's main airports - Imam Khomeini and Mehrabad - were closed due to the escalation of the conflict with Israel, Iranian state media reported on Monday (8).

Imam Khomeini and Mehrabad airports are important transport hubs and operate domestic and international routes.

The semi-official Fars news agency reported that all airports in western Iran were also closed indefinitely, citing the Public Relations Department of the Civil Aviation Organization of Iran.

And in Mashhad, the country's second largest city in the northeast of the country, all flights were canceled at Shahid Hashemi Nejad International Airport, according to Fars.

Resumption of attacks
Israel said on Monday it had struck a petrochemical plant in southwestern Iran, in addition to other attacks on military targets, after United States President Donald Trump reportedly instructed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to refrain from further attacks.

In the first offensive on an energy facility inside Iran since the April 8 ceasefire, Israeli forces say they have hit targets at the Mahshahr petrochemical complex, while a provincial official told Fars that parts of the plant had been damaged.

Yemen's Tehran-aligned Houthis have vowed to impede Israeli shipping in the Red Sea and claimed responsibility for the first missile attack on Israel since the ceasefire, prompting the Israeli military to activate its air defense systems.

"We consider all enemy movements to be legitimate military targets for our armed forces," the Houthis added in a statement.

Trump's request
Hours earlier, Trump had said that new attacks from Israel and Iran would not affect his government's peace negotiations with Tehran, adding that Benjamin Netanyahu "doesn't run everything."

Trump has pressured Israel to stop its attacks in Lebanon in order to pave the way for an agreement to end the war with Iran, even swearing at Netanyahu in a phone call last week.

However, early on Sunday (9), Israel launched attacks in the Beirut region for the first time since Washington announced a ceasefire plan for Lebanon last week.

Iran fired missiles at Israeli targets in retaliation, but Trump insisted a deal to end the war was still possible.

"This will have no impact on the agreement," Trump told the Financial Times newspaper. "I'm the one in charge. I make all the decisions. He (Netanyahu) doesn't rule anything."

*With information from Reuters news agency

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Source: CNN